Quincy cabdriver denied bail, will stay in Plymouth jail

Matanov is being held in “solitary confinement” at the Plymouth County jail, said Edward Hayden, Matanov’s defense laywer from Lynn.

Chris Burrell The Patriot Ledger @Burrell_Ledger

BOSTON – The 23-year-old Quincy man, who was friends with the alleged Boston Marathon bombers, will remain in a Plymouth jail after his lawyer failed Monday to convince a federal judge in Boston to release him on bail.

Khairullozhon Matanov, a former Quincy College student who worked as a cab driver in Braintree for the past two years, is accused of deleting computer files and lying when questioned about his relationship with alleged bombers, Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Matanov, dressed in a bright orange prison uniform, let out an audible sigh as a U.S. marshal handcuffed him Monday afternoon, following U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler’s decision not to release him.

Bowler agreed with prosecutors who said Matanov poses a flight risk if released.

Matanov is being held in “solitary confinement” at the Plymouth County jail, said Edward Hayden, Matanov’s defense laywer from Lynn.

“The conditions he is held in now at Plymouth are really draconian,” Hayden told the judge.

A spokesman for the Plymouth County Sheriff’s office said the county jail does not have solitary confinement, but Kevin Neal, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshal’s office in Boston, would not comment on conditions at the jail and whether Matanov is allowed to interact with other prisoners or spend any time outside of his cell.

“He was hopeful of getting out of Plymouth,” Hayden said of his client, Matanov. “He’s disappointed that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

Hayden argued that Matanov has cooperated with the law enforcement, including going to Braintree police the morning after the FBI released photographs of the Tsarnaevs and giving police the brothers' address and phone numbers.

“He went to the Braintree police,” said Hayden. “He met with the FBI five times, consented to the search of his car and his cell phone … This court has heard no evidence of how he obstructed this investigation or how he intended to obstruct this investigation.”

Hayden also criticized law enforcement for using excessive means to arrest Matanov on last month at his apartment in West Quincy.

At 5 a.m. on May 30, Quincy police and FBI agents in body armor swooped in on Matanov’s Common Street apartment building, forced open the door to his home and arrested him.

“There was no need for the show of force when he was arrested,” said Hayden, arguing that the police response “prejudiced” people to think Matanov is a dangerous person.

“That is just not true,” said Hayden. “He’s just a hardworking guy driving that cab.”

Hayden also tried to deflect prosecutors’ portrayal of Matanov, who said Matanov engaged in a “pattern of deceit” between 2010 and 2013, sending more than $71,000 to 15 people in six countries often using a fake name.

Matanov was helping friends and family, who needed money, in one case, for heart surgery for his younger brother, said Hayden.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Garland argued that all this generosity to friends and family in foreign countries such as Egypt, Jordan and former Soviet republics, made Matanov even more of a flight risk if released on bail.“That gives him the ability to go to a variety of countries (with) a soft landing,” said Garland. “Friends or family owe him a debt.”

Judge Bowler agreed, rejecting Matanov’s bid for freedom.

“The defendant lacks any ties to community. He has no family in the U.S., no assets, no property interests,” she said. “And of concern to the court is the use of aliases and more importantly, the transmision of money to Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Greece.”

The next hearing for Matanov is July 15, and Hayden is weighing whether to appeal the denial of bail for Matanov.

Chris Burrell may be reached at cburrell@ledger.com or follow on Twitter @Burrell_Ledger.